LeBron circles Dec. 10 with Wade to 'finish this off the right way'

LeBron James hugs it out with former Heat teammates Udonis Haslem on Sunday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. (John McCall / Sun Sentinel)

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are spending a season on opposite coasts for the first time. The irony Sunday was a reunion was prevented because neither was home.

That has James circling Dec. 10 on his calendar.

Advertisement

With Wade remaining in California in the wake of the birth of his daughter while James was scoring 51 points for the Los Angeles Lakers in a victory over the Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena, it leaves the Heat's lone remaining game against the Lakers as the last chance for the friends and former teammates to go head-to-head during Wade's retirement season.

"It sucks. I can't even lie to you guys," James said of Wade being away from the Heat for Sunday's game, James' only visit to South Florida this season. "I have never lied to you guys, obviously. I mean we all know the reason why he is not here."

Wade has labeled this season "One Last Dance" as his final ride through the NBA in his 16th season. He entered the NBA in the same draft class as James in 2003.

"To know that we only had two more games against each other, and one of them isn't going to happen, it sucked a little bit," James said. "Hopefully we are both in uniform when Miami comes to L.A. and we can finish this off the right way."

The Heat's Dec. 10 game at Staples Center against the Lakers is the Heat's third on a six-game trip.

Wade and James were teammates with the Heat from 2010 to 2014, advancing to the NBA Finals in each of those four seasons, with championships in 2012 and '13. They also were teammates for the first half of last season, before Wade was dealt from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Heat at a February NBA trading deadline.

James downplayed the return to South Florida as the impetus for his 51 points, but it was his first victory at AmericanAirlines Arena since leaving the Heat in 2014 free agency.

"Well the environment is the basketball and the hoop. That is my environment. That is my comfort zone," he said. "It is always great to be here and come back and see a lot of familiar faces. We had not-so-good times, we had more great times.

"It is always a respect factor and love for the people of Miami. Especially for the people who work here, we put in a lot of time."

Like us on Facebook

James recorded the eighth 50-point game against the Heat and the first since Isaiah Thomas scored 52 points for the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Dec. 30, 2016. His 19 field goals tied for the fourth most against the Heat and the most since Paul Millsap made 19 for the Utah Jazz on Nov. 9, 2010.

It was James' 37th career game against the Heat, now with 1,046 in the matchup, making the Heat the 14 opponent he has scored at least 1,000 career points against, even with his four seasons as a member of the team.